1. Field of the Invention
A post-type earring for pierced ears.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Earrings have been worn by women for purposes of adornment and as jewelry ever since the earliest civilizations. Earrings or other appurtenances for mounting to the earlobe have been found in numerous archeological excavations, and to this day even primitive societies such as the eskimos or the natives in jungles or on isolated south seas islands have adopted ornaments for the ears. The purpose of earrings is primarily for the decoration of the individual, and earrings together with a suitable matching necklace provide a pleasing appearance and heighten the attractiveness of the individual. Thus earrings, albeit not having any utilitarian function, are an important article of the jewelry trade and are a significant article of commerce and manufacture.
There are two kinds of earrings that are used for pierced ears, which are ears in which the earlobe has been pierced to provide a permanent passage for the insertion of a linear member, which is thus threaded through the earlobe. One is the so-called "wire" earring. The other is the so-called "post" earring. In a wire earring, the dangling ornament is provided with a U-shaped thin wire at one end of the ornament. One branch of the U is connected to the ornament permanently, the other end of the U is threaded through a person's earlobe and then is engaged with a catch of the ornament.
A post earring is connected to an ear by a rigid slender short linear rod or post. One end of the rod is attached to the ornament; the other end of the rod is pushed through the opening in a person's earlobe, and then a friction nut is slid onto this other end. This nut has a central opening defined by the tips of a plurality of resilient fingers. The fingers frictionally engage on the rod or post. The friction nut slides onto the post easily and slides off with difficulty. The problem with this type of prior art earring is that the friction nuts can become displaced accidentally, for instance, while the person is engaged in physical exertion or sleeping. Other types of post earrings have a threaded post, or a post in which at least the end opposite to the setting in which the ornament is mounted is threaded, in combination with a nut such as a wingnut or the like. The nut is screwed onto the post to hold the earring in place on the earlobe, and subsequent removal of the earring is accomplished by screwing off the nut followed by pulling the post out of the opening in the earlobe.
Among the prior art on earrings may be mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 298,987; 335,100; 439,457; 733,263; 2,373,002; 2,713,863; 2,882,702; 3,563,056 and Swiss Pat. No. 295,468; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,118.